Fastener for plate-glass.



No. 794.447. PATENTED JULY 11,1905.

W. R. BIGKFORD.

FASTENER FOR PLATE GLASS.

APPLIOATIOIT FILED MAR. 27, 1905.

No. 794,447. Patented July 11, 1905.

' UNTTED STATES ATENT Crrrcn.

WALLACE R. BICKFORD, OF NEWTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO STANDARD PLATE GLASS COMPANY, OF BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

FASTENER FOR PLATE-GLASS.-

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 794,447, dated July 11, 1905. Application filed March 2'7, 1905. Serial No. 252,16l.

T 107mm it y 0017163??? screw. One of these parts is adapted to bear Be it known that I, WALLACE R. BICKFORD, against the rod and the other against the outer of Newton, in the county of MiddleseX and face of the glass plate. Between the rod and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain the inner face of the glass plate is introduced new and useful Improvements in Fasteners for a clamping member in the form of a collar,

Plate-Glass, of which the following is a specifiand hence by effecting a relative rotation of cation. the nut and screw the nut, the screw, the 5 5 This invention has relation to those fasteners clamping-collar, the plate, and the rod are all which are employed for securing together the clamped tightly together.

IO meeting edges of two angularly arranged On the accompanying sheet of drawings, plates, such as plate-glass windows or the glass Figure 1 represents one embodiment of the in walls of show-cases, aquariums, or the like. vention secured to two angularly disposed 6o The object of the invention is to provide cerglass plates of a window as seen from the outtain improvements in fasteners of the characside. Fig. 2 represents a view of the same 5 ter described, by which their parts may be from the. inside. Fig. 3 represents a horisimplified in construction and reduced in numzontal section through the fastener, the parts her, by which they may be made more attractall being illustrated as enlarged. Fig. 4: rep-- 6 5 ive in appearance and less conspicuous than resent-s in detail some of the parts of the fasheretofore, and by which they are made more tener shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 5 represents in readily adjustable, so as to be more easily atsection another embodiment of the invention.

tached in place. Fig. 6 represents in detail some of the parts Another object of the invention is to proshown in Fig. 5. Fig. 7 represents in section vide certain improvements in said fasteners, still another form of the invention. in consequence of which the attached plates It will be understood that the invention is 5 are so held that they may move relatively to not limited to the details of construction illuseach other without danger of fracture. trated by the drawings thus briefly described It frequently happens that after the glass and explained in the following specification, windows are set in place the frames settle unand, further, that the phraseology which I evenly or so contract or expand that when said employ is for the purpose of description and 3 windows are rigidly held together by fasteners not of limitation.

they fracture at the aperture through which Referring to the drawings, a?) indicate two the clamping member of the fastener is passed. glass plates. They may be plate-glass win- According to the present invention I prodows or the walls of a show-case or aquarium ide in lieu of the binding-plate which has or any other angularly-disposed plates which 35 hitherto been employed a binder which conit is desired to secure together.

sists of a rod or bar bent at an angle so that The illustrated form of the invention comits end portions lie parallel to the glass plates. prises a rod or bar 10, which is bent at or near. 5 This rod or bar is relatively small in cros'sits middle to provide two end portions l1 11, section, so that it is inconspicuous and is prefwhich lie parallel to the plates (1. Z), respec- 4 erably cylindrical, whereby it has a rotative tivcly. This rod or bar serves as a binding engagement with the parts of the fasteners or connecting member to connect and bind towhich engage theglass plates,and consequently gether the clamps which are engaged with the permits said plates to automatically adjust glass plates. The bar or rod is cylindrical in themselves. In conjunction with the rod the form for the purpose previously described,

45 invention is illustrated as including clamps although so far as certain features of the inso constructed that by tightening them they vention are concerned it may be angular in are attached both to the window and to the cross-section. rod. Each clamp may consist of a nut and The clamps which are attached to the glass plates are each formed with three coacting membersto wit, a screw, a nut, and a clamping-collar. A screw and nut are preferably employed, since they are relatively adjusted without difficulty; but it is to be understood thatin lieu ofthem Imay employ any other mechanical'equivalents and desire to include such equivalents in the term screw and nut. The screw is formed with a head which serves as one clamping member, while the nut serves as another member, these members being located on opposite sides of the glass plate. The collar or third clamping member is interposed between the rod and the glass plate and cooperates with the member located outside of the glass plate in clamping the plate and with the member inside of the plate in clamping the rod. In the structure shown in Fig. 3 the screw is indicated at 12, and itshead 13 has an aperture 14 to receive the end 11 of the rod 10. The screw is passed from the inside of the window through an aperture in the glass plate and projects therebeyond for threaded engagement with the nut 15. This nut is illustrated as substantially hemispherical in form, and it is adapted to bear against the face of the glass plate. It has a circular flange 16, which engages the plate in a circular line surrounding the aperture therethrough. The nut has a threaded socket instead of having a threaded aperture entirely through it, and it has holes 17 in its convex portion or is otherwise suitably formed to receive a tool by which it may be rotated.

Between the rod 10 and the glass plate is introduced the collar 18, which is aperturecl to loosely receive the screw 13. the collar engages the rod and its other face engages the plate, so that by screwing the nut and screw tightly together the rod is clamped between the collar and. the screw-head, and at the same time the plate is clamped between the collar and the nut. In Fig. 3 the face of the collar which engages the plate is shown as conical or convex, and the aperture in the plate is formed complementally; but this is not essential. It is quite evident that the screw and nut may be reversed in position, and in my preferred form of theinvention they are arranged with the head of the screw outside'the plate, as shown in Fig. 5. In this figure the screw 20 has a head 21, with a bearing ring or flange 22 to engage the plate, The nut 23 is elongated and at one end has a threaded aperture to receive the screw and at its other end has an enlargement 24:, which is transversely apertured, as at 25, to receive the rod 10. The collar 26 in this case surrounds the nut and has a face with a circular flange 27 to engage the face of the plate. In both forms of clamp the collar is recessed to receive the enlargement of the nut in one case and of the screw in the other case. In Fig. 5 the nut extends into the aperture in the plate, although it is One face (if evident that the screw could be made longer and the nut terminate at or near the plane of the inner face of the plate.

From the foregoing description itis apparent that the com plementally-threaded clamping members and the collars serve to adjustably clamp the bent rod 10 and the plates 00 and 6 together and that each end 11 of the rod may be adjusted rotatively about its own axis and about the axis of the threaded members. This is a great advantage, since in the event of one of the plates, as a, sinking or moving downwardly relatively to that at 7) the end of the rod connected to plate a will rotate the nut and screw about their own axis, while the other end of the rod will be rotated about its axis, the frictional engagement of the parts permitting this relative movement.

It is quite evident that in lieu of employing the collar as a separate member it could be rigidly attached to either the screw in Fig. 3 or the nut in Fig. A, in which event the rod would be secured in place by a small set-screw 30, as shown in Fig. 7, although this is not the preferred form of the invention.

Having thus explained the nature of the invention and described a way of constructing and using the same, although without attempting to set forth all of the forms in which it may be made or all of the modes of its use, Iv

declare that what I claim is 1. A fastener for glass plates comprising a substantially cylindrical rod bent at an angle, and means by which said rod may be attached to said glass plates.

2. A fastener for glass plates comprising clamps for attachment to two angularly-arranged glass plates, and a cylindrical rod at tached to said clamps and longitudinally and rotatably adjustable relatively thereto.

3. A fastener for glass plates comprising a clamp for engagement with each plate, each clamp consisting of two complementallythreaded members of which one has a transverse aperture; and a rod having its ends passed through said apertures and adapted to be therein secured.

4:. A fastener for glass plates comprising a rod; and two clamps adapted for engagement with said plates, each clamp consisting of a nut and a screw, of which one has a portion adapted for engagement with said rod, and means for clamping said rod against said portion.

5. A fastener comprising a binding or connecting member; and two clamps for attachment to glass plates, each clamp consisting of two complementally-threaded members, and a collar, said collar being arranged to clamp the binding member to one of said threaded members and to clamp the plate to the other threaded member, when said threaded members are screwed together.

6. A fastener for glass plates comprising two clamps each adapted for attachment to a glass plate, and each having a transverse aperture, each clamp consisting of two complementally-threaded members; a binder having its ends extending adjustably through said apertures; and means by which the binder is frictionally clamped to each clamp, when the threaded members of said clamp are screwed together.

7. A fastener for glass plates comprisinga binding-rod; and clamping means for attaching each end of said rod to said plates, each clamping means consisting of two complementally-threaded members of which one is adapted to bear against one face of a glass plate, and of which the other has a transverse aperture to receive said rod, and athird clamping member which is adapted to bear against the other face of said glass plate and which has a portion for engagement with said rod; whereby when said threaded members are screwed together they are adapted to clamp the rod, the third clamping member and the glass plate between them.

In testimony whereof 1 have aifixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

VVALLAOE R. BIOKFORD.

Witnesses:

M. B. MAY, HARRY A. WHEELER. 

